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Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

When the Sweet 16 was set Sunday, former Michigan guard Stu Douglass started hearing about it.

Michigan-Tennessee might be Friday’s matchup in Indianapolis, but Douglass immediately flashed back to the teams’ previous meeting in the 2011 NCAA tournament when the eighth-seeded Wolverines routed ninth-seeded Tennessee, 75-45.

Late in the second half, with the Wolverines running away with the game, Darius Morris bounced Douglass a perfect behind-the-back pass, Douglass dunked it emphatically with two hands and had his “One Shining Moment” two weeks later when it played in the post-national championship montage on CBS.

“I got a lot of love for the dunk on social media,” said Douglass, who is playing professionally for an Israeli team. “I’m pretty sure every Michigan fan was shocked I could even touch the rim. Since the U-M/Tennessee matchup was set I’ve gotten more love for it, but I imagine this being the last time for that. So I will revel in it.”

The Wolverines have spent the past four years reveling in that moment. In the next game, they came within a basket of forcing overtime against No. 1 seed Duke, which told them they were on the rise.

The next year, U-M shared the Big Ten title, in 2013 reached the national title game, won the Big Ten by three games this season and are now in the Sweet 16 again, the highest remaining Midwest Regional seed at No. 2.

Tennessee took a ... different path to this meeting.

After the 2011 game, the Volunteers fired coach Bruce Pearl for his alleged, eventually proven, NCAA violations.

Cuonzo Martin was hired to replace Pearl. Tennessee spent two years in the NIT and barely slid into this NCAA tournament, starting the First Four in Dayton.

Three wins later, including an overtime affair over Iowa, the Volunteers are one of the hottest teams in the tournament lined up for a U-M rematch with none of the distractions of the first meeting.

The seeds might be further apart this time — 2 vs. 11 — but the teams are much closer than the prior meeting.

U-M center Jordan Morgan is the only player who made an impact in that game, scoring 10 points in 19 minutes. Center Jon Horford played 1 minute.

Two current Vols’ starters — guard Jordan McRae and forward Jeronne Maymon — combined to play 3 minutes that day.